Report: Obi-Wan Kenobi Almost Brought Back Darth Maul

It’s in all probability for the perfect that Darth Maul isn’t the large dangerous within the upcoming Disney+ Obi-Wan Kenobi sequence, avoiding a retread of the character’s terrific bow on Star Wars Rebels. But director Deborah Chow and original author Hossein Amini pitched a a lot darker take during which the character would return, but it surely was paused by Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy.

According to a story in the Hollywood Reporter, there was an iteration of the upcoming Kenobi story that did function Darth Maul (with Ray Park reprising the position) to function foremost antagonist, in addition to younger Luke Skywalker in a extra distinguished position. Sources instructed THR that when the story was reviewed by Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni, the pair “were concerned about Obi-Wan covering similar ground as Mandalorian—the Lone Wolf and Cub-like story of Kenobi coming out of hiding to protect a child-aged Luke Skywalker.”

Filoni is thought for additionally having delivered the definitive ending to the Kenobi/Maul storyline on Star Wars: Rebels. In a previous interview with io9, he famous that his take supplied extra a poignant closure for the character, versus a build-up to a different lightsaber battle. “It was just the right time to tell the story and bring that thread to an end,” he mentioned of the fast loss of life. “I felt strongly Obi-Wan, if he could help it, would really rather not kill Darth Maul. Obi-Wan is at a point, in my mind, where he’s become rather enlightened. He’s been in the desert discovering who he is, really evolving as a character. He’s not that young brash kid that went into a fight with Maul out of anger for the fact his master was killed. It can’t be that same situation this is so many years later. Maul, for his part, is pretty much hung up on that exact moment. That’s where his life went wrong. He can’t let it go.” At the time there was nothing deliberate for Maul sooner or later.

The THR story additionally mentions a supply claiming that Ray Park has proven up for a shoot and stunt coaching since being collaborating in early pre-production; a Lucasfilm rep contradicts the account stating that Maul was by no means supposed for the sequence. Building off the suggestion from Favreau and Filoni to “go bigger,”Chow and her staff leaned right into a manner for Darth Vader to develop into the principle antagonist for the sequence with Hayden Christensen reprising the position of Anakin Skywalker. While some followers could also be disillusioned that Obi-Wan Kenobi’s frequent nemesis received’t be taking part in a significant position, it’s time to maneuver on and see how Kenobi’s path within the Disney+ sequence is related to the occasions main as much as Star Wars: A New Hope.

Obi-Wan Kenobi premieres May 25 on Disney+.

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